A man retrieves computer servers and equipment from an office building that housed the offices of the Doha-headquartered news network Al Araby TV following a missile strike earlier in the day in Tehran on March 29, 2026. AFP
"The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
"Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all," he added.
Ghalibaf called for unity among Iranians, saying the war was "at its most critical stage".
Ghalibaf's comments came after more than a month of US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed at least 1,900 Iranians.
The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Iran has retaliated with attacks on Gulf states and blocked the navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to vessels from hostile nations.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken of diplomatic contacts with Iran, although these claims have been denied by Tehran, which put conditions to establish talks with the US.
The US has, however, been sending more military assets into the region.
The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying around 3,500 Marines and sailors, arrived in the Middle East on Friday.
The Washington Post reported the Pentagon was preparing plans for weeks of ground operations, potentially including raids on sites near the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said the United States was already taking control of the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s Channel 14 correspondent said on X, citing an interview with the president on Sunday. “Yes, sure, it’s already happening,” he said when asked whether the US could take control of the waterway.
Short link: